Subject: Quantity Cookery

Course:
Semester/Year: First Semester/ 2020-2021
Time:
Week: 6

Standardized Recipe

Lesson Description: This lesson covers the standardized recipe, components,

benefits, recipe yield, portions, kitchen measurements and
converting and adjusting recipes.

Objectives/Learning Outcomes
At the end of this lesson the student should be able to:
1. List the parts of a well-written standardized recipe
2. Explain the importance of standardized recipes as a management tool
3. Explain advantages of using standardized recipes
4. Describe common measurements used on recipes for food production
5. Convert recipe and ingredient amounts from one yield to another yield
(both larger and smaller)

STANDARDIZED RECIPES

All recipes are not created equal. Some recipes have missing ingredients, faulty
seasonings, insufficient or poor instructions causing more work, and some are
simply not tested.

Standardized recipe- is a set of written instructions used to consistently prepare a

known quantity and quality of food for a specific location. A standardized recipe
will produce a product that is close to identical in taste and yield every time it is
made, no matter who follows the directions.
 A good standardized recipe will include:
 Menu item name – the name of the given recipe that should be consistent with
the name on the menu
 Total Yield – number of servings, or portions that a recipe produces, and often the
total weight or volume of the recipe
 Portion size – amount or size of the individual portion
 Ingredient list/quantity – exact quantities of each ingredient (with the exception
of spices that may be added to taste)
 Preparation procedures – Specific directions for the order of operations and types
of operations (e.g., blend, fold, mix, sauté)
 Cooking temperatures and times, including HACCP critical control points and
limits to ensure the dish is cooked properly and safely
 Special instructions, according to the standard format used in an operation
 Mise en place – a list of small equipment and individual ingredient preparation
 Service instructions, including hot/cold storage
 Plating/garnishing

In addition to the list above, standardized recipes may also include recipe cost,
nutritional analysis, variations, garnishing and presentation tips, work
simplification tips, suggested accompaniments or companion recipes, and photos.

A short side note on mise en place – a key component to efficiently producing

menu items from recipes is to have “everything in its place

Some things to remember when writing a standardized recipe:

 If you are starting with a home/internet recipe – make it first!
 Standardized recipes are a training tool for employees
 A good recipe is like a well-crafted formula – it has been tested and works every
time
 S.A.M.E. – Standardization Always Meets Expectations

Recipes as a Control Tool

 Standardized recipes are an important control tool for food service managers and
operations. A standardized recipe assures not only that consistent quality and
quantity, but also a reliable cost range. In order for an operation to set a menu
selling price that allows the operation to make a profit, it’s vital that the cost of
each recipe and portion is calculated and relatively consistent.

Benefits of using a standardized recipe include:

 a consistent quality and quantity
 standard portion size/cost
 assuring nutritional content and addressing dietary concerns, such as special diets
or food allergies
 helping ensure compliance with “Truth in Menu” requirements
 aiding in forecasting and purchasing
 fewer errors in food orders
 incorporating work simplification principles and aids in cross-training
 assisting in training new employees
 incorporating HACCP principles
 reducing waste
 more easily meeting customer expectations

Arguments often used against standardized recipes can include:

 take too long to use
 employees don’t need them, they know how to do things in establishment
 chef doesn’t want to reveal their secrets
 take too long to write/develop

STANDARD YIELDS

The yield of a recipe is the number of portions it will produce. Yields can also be
expressed as a total volume or total weight the recipe produces.
 Standard yields for the main, often higher cost, ingredients such as meat, may
also take into consideration portion cost and be determined in part by calculating
the cost per cooked portion.

STANDARD PORTIONS

A standard recipe includes the size of the portions that will make up a serving of
the recipe. Controlling portion size has two advantages in food management:
 portion costs for the item will be consistent until ingredient or labor costs change,
and
 customers receive consistent quantities each time they order a given plate or
drink.

Standard portions mean that every plate of a given dish that leaves the kitchen
will be almost identical in weight, count, or volume. Only by controlling portions is
it possible to control food costs. If one order of bacon and eggs goes out with six
strips of bacon and another goes out with three strips, it is impossible to
determine the actual cost of the menu item.

Strict portion control has several side benefits beyond keeping costs under
control.

First, customers are more satisfied when they can see that the portion they have
is very similar to the portions of the same dish they can see around them.

Second, servers are quite happy because they know that if they pick up a dish
from the kitchen, it will contain the same portions as another server’s plate of the
same order.

TYPES OF MEASUREMENTS USED IN THE KITCHEN

There are three types of measurements used to measure ingredients and to serve
portions in the restaurant trade.

Measurement can be by volume, by weight, or by count.

Recipes may have all three types of measurement. A recipe may call for 3 eggs
(measurement by count), 8 ounces of milk (measurement by volume), and 1
pound of cheese (measurement by weight).

Number or Count

Number measurement is only used when accurate measurement is not critical

and the items to be used are understood to be close in size.

Volume

Volume is often the measure used when portioning sizes of finished product.

Weight

Weight is the most accurate way to measure ingredients or portions. When

proportions of ingredients are critical, their measurements are always given in
weights.

The reason weight is more accurate than volume is because it takes into account
factors such as density, moisture, and temperature that can have an effect on the
volume of ingredients.

Another common mistake is interchanging between volume and weight. The only
ingredient that will have the same volume and weight consistently is water: 1 cup
water = 8 ounces water.

There is no other ingredient that can be measured interchangeably because of

gravity and the density of an item. Every ingredient has a different density and
different gravitational weight, which will also change according to location. This is
called specific gravity. Water has a specific gravity of 1.0. Liquids that are lighter
than water (such as oils that float on water) have a specific gravity of less than
1.0. Those that are heavier than water and will sink, such as molasses, have a
specific gravity greater than 1.0. Unless you are measuring water, remember not
to use a volume measure for a weight measure, and vice versa.

CONVERTING AND ADJUSTING RECIPES AND FORMULAS

 Recipes often need to be adjusted to meet the needs of different situations. The
most common reason to adjust recipes is to change the number of individual
portions that the recipe produces.

Other reasons to adjust recipes include changing portion sizes (which may mean
changing the batch size of the recipe) and better utilizing available preparation
equipment (for example, you need to divide a recipe to make two half batches
due to a lack of oven space).

Conversion Factor Method

The most common way to adjust recipes is to use the conversion factor method.
This requires only two steps:
1. Finding a conversion factor
2. Multiplying the ingredients in the original recipe by that factor.

Finding Conversion Factors

To find the appropriate conversion factor to adjust a recipe, follow these steps:
1. Note the yield of the recipe that is to be adjusted. The number of portions is
usually included at the top of the recipe (or formulation) or at the bottom of the
recipe. This is the information that you HAVE.
2. Decide what yield is required. This is the information you NEED.
3. Obtain the conversion factor by dividing the required yield (from Step 2) by the
old yield (from Step 1). That is, conversion factor = (required yield)/(recipe yield),
conversion factor = what you NEED ÷ what you HAVE

If the number of portions and the size of each portion change, you will have to
find a conversion factor using a similar approach:
1. Determine the total yield of the recipe by multiplying the number of portions and
the size of each portion.
2. Determine the required yield of the recipe by multiplying the new number of
portions and the new size of each portion.
3. Find the conversion factor by dividing the required yield (Step 2) by the recipe
yield (Step 1). That is, conversion factor = (required yield)/(recipe yield)

ADJUSTING RECIPES USING CONVERSION FACTORS

 Now that you have the conversion factor, you can use it to adjust all the
ingredients in the recipe. The procedure is to multiply the amount of each
ingredient in the original recipe by the conversion factor. Before you begin, there
is an important first step:
 Before converting a recipe, express the original ingredients by weight whenever
possible.

CAUTIONS WHEN CONVERTING RECIPES

When converting recipes, conversion calculations do not take into account certain
factors:
 Equipment
 Mixing and cooking times – this can be affected if the equipment used to cook or
mix is different from the equipment used in the original recipe
 Cooking temperatures
 Shrinkage – the percentage of food lost during its storage and preparation
 Recipe errors

Some other problems that can occur with recipe conversions are:
 Substantially increasing the yield of small home cook recipes can be problematic
as all the ingredients are usually given in volume measure, which can be
inaccurate, and increasing the amounts dramatically magnifies this problem.
 Spices and seasonings must be increased with caution as doubling or tripling the
amount to satisfy a conversion factor can have negative consequences. If
possible, it is best to under-season and then adjust just before serving.

The fine adjustments that have to be made when converting a recipe can only be
learned from experience, as there are no hard and fast rules. Generally, if you
have recipes that you use often, convert them, test them, and then keep copies of
the recipes adjusted for different yields.

S.A.M.E.

Remember – Standardization Always Meets Expectations. Foodservice operations

need to meet the expectations of their customers, every time they visit.
Foodservice operations need to meet expectations for employees, their skill level
and training. Foodservice businesses need to meet expectations for costs and
profit for all menu items. Standardized recipes are critical to the foodservice
industry. They are simply good business!

Assignment/Self- Assessment
1. If recipe calls for 4 lbs ground beef to make 20 three-ounce burgers, how
much beef is need to make 45 four-ounce burgers?